Singapore - Regional economic integration is essential for East Asian countries to build on each other's strengths and enjoy greater stability, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday. With integration, business people can operate more easily with lower physical and technical barriers to trade, Lee said at a symposium organized by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) held in Singapore.
ERIA was first proposed by Japan in January 2007.
East Asia risks falling behind competitors without deeper economic cooperation and greater integration, said the city-state's Minister of Trade and Industry S Iwaran.
"We need bold visions and concerted efforts to sustain our economic initiative and raise the standard of living of our people," he told the meeting.
Energy will be a key challenge, Iwaran said. "As our cities grow and our peoples' lives improve, we will need more energy for everything we do."
"We are equally and perhaps acutely aware of the trade-offs to be made between more intensive use of energy and the impact on our environment."
Unbridled growth without heed to environmental consequences is not an option, Iwaran told the delegates. "Neither is the surrender of economic growth and higher living standards."
The integration process will be "a litmus test of mankind's ability of balance the demands of development with the needs of the environment, to reconcile progress with sustainability."
Economic ties can yield benefits such as greater economic stability and resilience; greater market access for businesses and greater choice and opportunities for citizens.
"We are certainly on the right track," Iwaran said, noting the entire GDP of East Asia expanded by 22.7 times from 1970 to 2005, faster the EU or NAFTA.
